The goodwill institute in Russia: the civil law aspect

Relevance. At the present stage of business development in Russia, intangible assets that affect the legal status, cost, and competitive advantages of an enterprise have become of particular importance. When making transactions, the parties must take into account the positive reputation of the business, established connections, and brand awareness, but such legal relations are not properly regulated at the legislative level. Therefore, there is a practical need to introduce the "goodwill institute" into the legal field. Purpose. The main purpose is to define the concept of "goodwill" Objectives: highlight its main elements, and propose legislative consolidation of provisions on intangible assets of enterprises. Methodology. The methods used in the research are desk review of relevant works, statistics, interpretation of legal norms, comparative analysis, induction, deduction. Result. Based on the results of the study, the author's definition of "goodwill" was proposed. The following elements are highlighted in the goodwill composition: a positive reputation of the company; a location that attracts regular customers; a company name that is well-known, reputable and trustworthy; regular customers and strong ties with suppliers of goods and services; competitive goods and services in high demand, and qualified employees. Conclusion. The necessity of supplementing Clause 2 of Article 132 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation with a legal provision stating that an enterprise as a property complex includes not only tangible assets, exclusive rights, commercial designation, trademarks, service marks, but also intangible assets such as reputation, clientele, business connections, location.